Photographic color process and film therefor



Jan. 10, 1939. J. G. CARSTAFF 2,143,762

PHOTOGRAPHIC COLOR PROCESS AND FILM THEREFOR Filed Oct. 28, 1936 TRANSPARENT COAT/NGUEMPORARY) /SUPPORT REVERSAL IMAGE ATTORNEYS.

Patented Jan. 10, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PHOTOGRAPHIC COLOR PROCESS AND FILM 'rrmasroa John G. Capstaff, Rochester, N. Y., assignor to Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, N. Y., a corporation of New Jersey Application October 28, 1936, Serial No. 108,036

8 Claims (Cl. 95-2) This invention relates to photographic color the color separation views were exposed through processes employing lenticular film in which the the same lens aperture and it may be projected several color separation images occupy individual in any well known manner or printed onto a copy areas on the smooth face of a support and in regfilm by any suitable process.

istration with the lenticulations provided on the The invention, as broadly outlined above, in-

other face of the support and, more particularly eludes several novel and advantageous features to a film and a process with which the separation among which may be included the necessity of no of the color images are obtained photographically. special camera optics. The camera exposure is When pictures are taken on lenticular film considerably reduced over that required for ex- 10 through a multi-color filter associated with the posing lenticular film since the color separation 10 objective the colored areas of the filter normally is accomplished subtractively rather than addisee the subject being photographed from difiertively and the definition, and, accordingly, the cut viewpoints. Pictures made in this manner color rendition, is greatly improved by combining are now known to possess a defect which appears the best features of both the subtractive and adl5 in projection as color fringes on out-of-focus ditive color process while eliminating the necesobjects. This defect is believed to be due to the sity of adopting their weaknesses. stereo parallax between the difierent color areas In accordance with another aspect of my in of the filter associated with the objective and in vention I may dispense with the temporary remy copending application Serial No. 703,268, filed moval of the lenticulations during the camera ex- December 20, 1933, I describe and claim a method posure by arranging the film with its emulsion 20 and optical system for eliminating this defect by S d ac e d t light TO insure the causing two or more of the filter areas to view the pr per re i rati n of he fi l images, e s l csubject being photographed fromacommon point tive fog e po ure will of course be given in space. through the support either before or after the The present invention provides a method for camera exposure. While this method of practicg5 eliminating this defect and, in addition thereto, ing the proce f my i v n n i a v y simple 1 makes it possible to record pictures on lenticular one, the spectral sensitivity of the emulsions at film without the necessity of providing a camera present available is not entirely satisfactory-for objective which must meet special requirements, th ord na y th component colors because of such as a predetermined relative aperture or the the requirement that the several emulsions must 30 apparent position of the multi-colored filter as be selectively exposed with light incident thereon viewed by the film. first from one side and then from the other side.

In accordance with one aspect of my invention This difliculty is not insurmountable, however,

a lenticular support is provided on its plane surand the employm t of infra red radiation in 3; face with a plurality of differentially sensitized connection with suitable emulsions for making emulsions which may comprise separate layers, a one of the selective fogging exposures makes it single layer of mixed particles, or a combination possible to practice the process by this particular of these. the primary sensitivity of each being for method.

a different one of the component colors desired to Still another way is available for dispensing 0 be used in the process. The lenticular surface is with the removal of the lenticulations during the 4G rendered optically smooth and the resulting film camera exposure if the user is willing to employ a exposed through the support to an image of the camera objective having an aperture which subject to be recorded. After exposure and before meets the requirement demanded by the aperdevelopment the lenticulations are restored and a tures of the film lenticulations. In this case the selective fogging exposure is given separate areas camera exposure would be made through the len- 4r behind each lenticulation so that in each area a ticulations and due to the absence of a multiwolor different one of the emulsions is unaffected. Aifilter at the camera objective, the camera externatively the selective fogging exposure may be posure necessary would not be increased. In given before the camera exposure and before the some subjects color fringing on out-of-focus ch- 59 lenticulations are rendered optically smooth. jects would be introduced but if such fringing The film is then developed by a reversal process could not be tolerated it could be eliminated as to provide a resulting film in which the color taught in my above identified application.

separation images are in registration behind the If the film resulting from the process of my inlenticulations. This film will not contain the vention is to be employed to print in any well above-mentioned color fringing effect since all of known manner on film other than lenticular film,

Eli

the lenticulations on the original film may be made having small relative apertures, such as f. 3.5, thereby making it practical to employ more lenses per unit area, to employ a thicker support and the lenses on the film will have a greater depth of focus which improves the definition.

The novel features which I believe to be characteristic of my invention are set forth in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, will be best understood by reference to the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawing in which,

Fig. 1 shows on an enlarged scale a lenticular film provided with a monopack of differently sensitized layers and a coating for optically removing the lenticulations;

Fig. 2 illustrates diagrammatically an arrangement for selectively fogging certain areas of the monopack layers; and

Fig. 3 illustrates the developed picture film re suiting from the method of the invention.

In the practice of my invention a transparent support provided with a plurality of differentially sensitized emulsion particles or layers is exposed to a colored image before or after which the uncoated face of the support is provided with lenticulations. These lenticulations may be embossed upon the support after the camera exposure or embossed thereon at some prior time. Due to a number of dificulties involved in embossing a support having an exposed layer thereon without damaging the latent image, I prefer to.

employ a lenticular support and optically remove the lenticulations for making the original exposure when such exposure is to be made through the support.

The preferred form of the invention is illustrated in Fig. 1 as comprising a transparent support III having minute lenticulations IE on one of its faces and a plurality of differentially sensitized layers indicated as B, G and R on its other face. The lenticulations II are covered with a smooth layer I2 of some suitable readily removable transparent substance which preferably has a refractive index approximating the refractive index of the support I 0, whereby the lenticulations II are optically removed. This temporary coating I2 may conveniently be a broken downand readily soluble gelatin or glue which may be satisfactorily removed in cold water. The exact composition of the coating I2 will, of course, vary somewhat with the nature of the support I and in order to secure the proper cohesion between the coating I 2 and the support Ill, it may be necessary, in some cases, to first apply a sub coating thereto or to include in the gelatin solution a. material having a slightly solvent action upon the support III. A suitable subbing coating for most present day commercial film base may comprise a mixture of 30% acetone 2% gelatin and water and applied to the film at approximately a temperature of 100 F. The above examples are given merely to indicate two satisfactory procedures and anyone skilled in the art will experience no difiiculty in practicing the invention by following the procedures and, of course, other well known materials may be employed for the removable layer I2.

The number of emulsion layers provided on the support II) will depend upon the number of component colors it is desired to record or employ in the process, but, inasmuch as it is the common practice to employ three colors, I will describe my invention in detail as applied to a threearcane color process. The actual colors chosen will depend upon the user and I have shown the emulsion layers as being differentially sensitized to approximately the blue, green and red as indicated respectively by the reference characters B, G and R. Monopacks of this type are well known and, if desirable, certain of the layers may contain dyes for screening purposes and for controlling the .gammas of the respective layers as is wellknown.

For example, the first layer B will preferably contain a yellow dye which will not transmit an appreciable amount or blue light to the layers G and R when the monopack is exposed through the support it. Although the screening layers may comprise separate layers between the emulsion layers B, G and R, I prefer to incorporate any such screening layers directly in the emulsions in the interest of keeping the combined thickness of the monopack layers at a minimum for purposes well known, such as reducing color splashing and improving definition.

The film above described, is exposed through the support It to a color image which resultsin a latent image being present in each of the emulsion layers in accordance with the color characteristics of said image, as is well known. The temporary layer it of soluble transparent, varnish is then removed as, for instance, by washing in cold water for about ten minutes if broken down gelatin has been employed for the layer I2. The film, with the lenticulations i I restored as shown in Fig. 2, is then uniformly exposed to differently colored light in such a manner that separate areas of themonopack emulsion are exposed to light of a single color and the location of these separate areas are controlled by the lenticulations I i, this exposure may readily be accomplished in the ordinary manner employed for exposing lenticular film and a conventional arrangement is shown in Fig. 2 as comprising a light source it which illuminates the film it through a banded filter, each band of which transmits light minus a different one of the colors for'which the emulsion layers B, G and R are sensitive, that is, a bluegreen zone transmits minus red light and the light transmitted by this zone and directed to an individual area behind the lens element II will not expose the layer R, but will uniformly fog the blue and green layers Band G. In a similar manner the magenta zone of the filter transmits minus green light which fogs the blue and red sensitive layers but does not affect the green sensitive layer and the yellow zone of the filter transmits minus blue light which .does not aflfect the blue, green and red light in the original color image to which the film was exposed and since these three images are in registration with the lenticulations II, the result is a color separation image of the ordinary lenticular film color process and it canbe printed or projected in the regular manner.

It will, of course, be understood that the lenticulations I I are very small and that what has been iii) described as happening behind a single lentlculation happens behind all of the lenticulatlons.

It is also to be understood that the exposing arrangement shown in Fig. 2 is diagrammatic in order to render this step of the process easily understandable and that, in practice, a conventional setup employing an objective lens associated with the banded filter may be used in much 1e same manner as it is at present used in cameras and printers for exposing lenticular film. Preferably the film will be moved non-intermittently through the printer.

If the camera exposure is to be made with the emulsion side of the film facing the incident light the emulsion layers will be arranged in'a different order so that the several colors will be properly recorded. The fogging exposure step illustrated in Fig. 2 will be accomplished in the same general way 'but with such changes as to insure the desired selective fogging.

If the camera exposure is made through the lenticular support and with the emulsion layers in order shown in Fig. 1 a gain in definition is secured by reason of the chromatic aberration of the lenticulations working in the right direction, i. e., the blue light is brought to a focus first and the blue sensitive layer is the closest to the lenticulations. Also the scatter of wavelengths tends in the same direction as the order of the layers.

It will be evident that in the present process the color separation in the several layers depends alone on the latent image formed as a result of sensitizing and screening and is not further complicated by the necessity of controlling the penetration of dyes and bleaching solutions as is the case when the process is completely a subtractive one. Also that the emulsion layers may be much more sensitive than corresponding layers employed in films of the catalytic bleach type.

It will also be evident to those skilled in the art that the camera exposure is greatly reduced by obtaining the color separation subtractively instead of by an additive process.

Although I have described specific steps for practicing the method of my invention and a preferred form or film therefor, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that the individual steps in the method may be performed in other ways and that the specific structure of the film may be modified without departing from the spirit of my invention, the scope of which is pointed out in the appended claims.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a lenticular film three-color process, the method of producing the photographic original which comprises exposing to a color image a film having three emulsion layers each of which is sensitized for a different one of the three com,- ponent spectral colors, providing the film with lenticulations on its face opposite the face carrying said layers, exposing the film to light transmitted through a filter having three zones which absorb respectively the three colors for which said layers are sensitized, said filter being positioned so that it is imaged in said layers by the lenticulations and developing the film by a reversal process.

2. In a lenticular film three-color process, the method of converting an exposed but undeveloped monopack film having three layers each of which contains a latent image of a different color of the process and each of which is sensitized for a dif ferent one of three component colors into a lon ticular film having the three component color images on a support separation images registered in separate areas behind each lentlculation which comprises providing the uncoated face of said monopack film with lenticulations, uniformly exposing said film through the lenticulations to light transmitted by a three-zoned filter each zone of which absorbs one different of the three component colors, and developing said film by a reversal process.

3. The method'of producing color separation and in registration with lenticulations carried by the support which comprises coating the plane face of the support with a plurality of diiferentially colorsensitized emulsion layers the primary sensitivity of each layer being for a different one of the component colors employed in the process, covering the lenticulations with a removable transparent substance to provide a plane outer surface, exposing said layers through the support to an image of the subject to be recorded, removing the transparent substance from the lenticulations, re-exposing different areas of substantially the same size behind od of producing a photographic original on a film provided on one of its faces with a plurality of differentially color sensitized emulsion layers the primary sensitivity of each being for a different one of the component colors employed in the process which comprises exposing the emulsion layers to a color image, providing the other face of the film with lenticulations, selectively fogging by uniform exposure all but one of said layers in separate areas of substantially equal size behind each lenticulation to obtain an unfogged latent image in a single and different layer for each of said separate areas, and developing said layers by a reversal process.

5. In a lenticular film color process, the method of producing a photographic original on a film provided on one of its faces with a plurality of differentially color sensitized emulsion layers the primary sensitivity of each being for a different one of the component colors employed in the process which comprises exposing the emulsion layers to a color image, providing the other face of the film with lenticulations, uniformly fogging by exposure all but one layer in different and substantially equal areas behind each lenticulation, the unfogged layers in the several areas being diiferent, and developing said layers by a reversal process.

6. In a photographic color process employing a lenticular film provided with an emulsion having different parts selectively sensitive to a different one of the component spectral colors, the method of producing the photographic original of a scene which includes exposing the emulsion to an image of the scene and selectively and unlformly fogging separate areas of substantially equal sizebehind each lentlculation by subjecting them to different light exposures each of which is minus a difierent one of said component spectral colors to obtain in each area an unfogged latent image of a single and different one of the spectral colors.

7. In a lenticular film photographic process employing a plurality of differentially color sensitized emulsions carried by a single support the primary sensitivity of each being for a difierent one of the component colors employed in the process the method of producing separation images of different color values in separate areas on the support and behind each lenticulation -which comprises exposing the emulsions to an image formed withmulti-colored light, exposing uniformly one area of the emulsions behind each lenticulation to light which does not contain any wavelengths to which one of the emulsions is sensitive, exposing uniformly another and substantially equal area of the emulsions behind each lenticulation to light which does not contain JOHN G. CAPSTAFF. 

